Consider Safety of Uloric

Adults with gout and taking Uloric should consider the safety and side effects of this drug if they have confronted problems while under treatment with the medicine.

Several lawsuits have been filed against Uloric’s manufacturer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, after health complications with its side effects and even death occurred after taking this dangerous drug. The Japanese company has been accused of hiding potentially harmful adverse effects of the medication to get it approve and on the market.

WHAT IS ULORIC?

Uloric, the trademark name of generic Febuxostat, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with gout, which is a type of arthritis caused by excessive uric acid levels in the blood (hyperuricemia). It belongs to a class of medicines called xanthine oxidase inhibitors (XO).

This is a relatively new drug (approved by the FDA in 2009) to lower uric acid levels in the blood in a way intended to prevent gout attacks and keep the disease under control.

IS ULORIC SAFE?

Before you start taking Uloric, Johns Hopkings Arthritis Center experts recommend you tell your healthcare professional about other medical problems, especially if you had the following:

Liver or kidney problems

If you have a history of heart disease or stroke.

If you’re pregnant or are planning to be.

If you’re breast-feeding or plan to do.

It is very important to tell your doctors if you are taking any other medicine if you’re about to start Uloric, be it prescription or non-prescription drugs, as well as birth control pills, vitamins, and herbal supplements. This product may interact with other medicines, such as azathioprine and mercaptopurine.

One of the lawsuits, filed by whistleblower Helen Ge, alleges the pharmaceutical company defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by failing to report the dangerous side effects when used in combination with other drugs, like digoxin, imuran, methadone, and warfarin.

A death attributed to this drug was of a patient that used it in combination with methadone. From the autopsy report, Ge concluded that Uloric had the same metabolizing enzyme (CYP1A2) as methadone, thus increasing the risk of the fatal overdose.

If you or someone that you love has been affected by Uloric, contact us today for a free case evaluation. Contact our firm today to learn how to get started with a pharmaceutical drug lawsuit.

WHAT ARE ULORIC’S SIDE EFFECTS?

The most common side effects are liver problems, nausea, gout flares, joint pain, and rash, according to the Johns Hopkings Arthritis Center, but a drug trial revealed that some patients had heart-related problems or stroke.

The primary result of a safety trial done with 6,000 gout patients treated with either febuxostat or allopurinol (an older gout drug) revealed a combination of heart-related death, non-deadly heart attack, non-deadly stroke, and a condition of inadequate blood supply to the heart requiring urgent surgery.

Claims have been made that the company altered, and falsified adverse event reports submitted to the FDA to lessen Uloric’s side effects to make it more competitive against allopurinol, an older and less expensive gout drug, and protect the new drug’s potential sales.

The FDA said of the “preliminary results” that “febuxostat did not increase the risk of these combined events compared to allopurinol. However, when the outcomes were evaluated separately, febuxostat showed an increased risk of heart-related deaths and death from all causes.”

If you are taking Uloric, get medical help right away if you have any of these very serious side effects:

HOW DOES ULORIC WORK?

Febuxostat or Uloric work by stopping the body from turning purines into uric acid. Uric acid comes from purines, which are chemicals substances from the body.

Purines also come from certain foods and drinks. Some types of meat and fish, as well as beer, are rich in purines and can raise the risk of gout in some people. Sugary soft drinks may also raise the risk.

WHAT IS GOUT?

Gout is a type of arthritis disease. It can be painful when uric acid levels get too high because the purines chemicals can form needlelike crystals that accumulate in the joints.

Gout attacks, in the early stages of the disease, can last several days and are excruciating, although experts say they occur only rarely. But over time, the frequency increases and patients can develop disfiguring and disabling lumps of the chalky white crystals, called tophi. They can turn to unsightly lumps in people with severe gout.

Doctors tend to only treat gout attacks. They use either pain relievers like naproxen, steroids or a crocus plant derivative called colchicine that has been used for centuries.

If harmed by Uloric, how to contact a lawyer?

You or someone you love may have suffered or been injured by Uloric. Then, you could consider getting a free case evaluation with the experienced lawyers of Greg Jones Law firm.

Our national law firm is experienced on drug cases. Having us on your side is important, especially with the resources and track record of personal injury cases we have against big pharmaceutical companies.

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